


Killing Me Softly

by castleheart



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adult Content, F/M, Family Drama, Jealousy, Love Triangles, M/M, Male Slash, Possessive Behavior, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:06:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castleheart/pseuds/castleheart
Summary: Yuki is never one to step out of his comfort zone, but what was supposed to be a regular visit to his cousin's shrine takes a turn for the worst when he falls into the Bone Eater's well chasing down his cousin and a strange silver haired man. He's then thrown unceremoniously into the feudal era. Naturally, he's lost, scared, and doesn't know what to do next. To make matters worse, he's soon kidnapped by a dashing, brute of a wolf demon. A wolf demon that makes quick work of capturing his affections, and demanding that he becomes solely HIS.Kouga/OMC, m/m, REVAMPED.[Cross-posted on ffnet]
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Kouga/Original Male Character, Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)/Original Character(s), kouga/oc
Comments: 40
Kudos: 28





	1. down the rabbit hole

"Come on InuYasha! Quit being so whiny! I have to go back!" Kagome was complaining loudly that sunny afternoon, her path being blocked by a grouchy hanyou with yellow eyes and flowing silver hair, "My cousin is visiting today! I haven't seen him in years and I really need to be there to greet him!"

"We still have a lot of jewel shards to collect, wench!" InuYasha snapped, his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest, "We don't have time to wait around for you to come back!"

"It's only three days! Don't be so unreasonable!"

"No way in hell," InuYasha snapped decisively, hands now on his hips, "You're staying right here, end of story!"

Kagome's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She was tired of this argument, "SIT!"

The beads of subjection glowed before the hanyou was slammed face first into the ground. He let out a pained grunt as he hit the dirt floor and Kagome stepped over him. Carrying her large yellow backpack, she jogged over to the well and tossed her legs over the side, peering over her shoulder at InuYasha as she called out to him, "I'll be back in three days! Don't even think about coming for me before then, alright?"

InuYasha growled as Kagome turned and jumped down into the well, a bright light appearing from the well as she disappeared into it.

' _Damn that wench..._ '

* * *

Yuki Sakuragi adjusted the strap on his carry on as he waved down cab from in front of the Tokyo bus station. Music thrummed in his ears from the tiny set of headphones he wore, connected to his mp3 player that was tucked away in his back pocket. This weekend was a long one, and he had made plans to visit his favorite cousin Kagome. Her and her family only lived a few cities from him, and he missed them so he figured a visit had been long overdue.

Besides, things at home were getting more and more unbearable. His mother's drinking had gotten worse; she had been like this ever since the divorce. It wasn't like he didn't understand how she was feeling, he just wished that she could talk to him about it instead of drowning her sorrows in liquor. He figured some time away from her would do good for both her and him.

A cab pulled over and he slipped into the back. He told the driver where he was headed to and he drove off, joining the busy streets of Tokyo. Yuki sat back against the seat, pulling out a book and flipping it open as he settled down for the ride.

He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but eventually the cab driver pulled up to the Higurashi Shrine. He thanked the man and climbed out the taxi. He sighed upon seeing just how many stairs he had to take to get to the home... He was probably just being lazy.

He began the trek up the long staircase.

Once he reached the top, he was greeted by his youngest cousin, Sota, "Hey there squirt!"

"Yuki-kun! It's been too long," the young boy greets him and jogs up to him. They exchange a hug and a smile, "Come on in, everyone's waiting for you!"

"Great," Yuki replied and followed after the kid. He entered the house, removing his shoes at the entrance and stepping over the foyer. His carry on was taken from him and Sota told him he would take it to the guest room for him. He disappeared up the staircase before Yuki could protest.

"Well if it isn't my favorite cousin!" a familiar voice says cheerfully, and Yuki smiles widely upon seeing Kagome.

"Kagome-chan!" he greeted her, and they gave each other a tight hug in greeting.

"How have you been?" she asks with a smile, and she is as beautiful as ever. With her almond shaped brown eyes and her long mane of black hair, accompanied by her warm smile and kind disposition, his cousin was simply lovely, "It feels like years since we've last seen each other."

"Well, it's nearly been a year," Yuki says and smiles sweetly. Kagome couldn't help but smile back. Her cousin was so cute. He had a gentle demeanor and he was soft spoken, even his voice had a soft and light ting to it; like bells. He had soft strawberry blonde hair that was on the long side and framed his feminine features. Long eyelashes rested over big, golden amber eyes. He was slim and half a head shorter then she was, with pale smooth skin. Her cousin had always been on the girly side, "You've grown taller Kagome, you're even taller than me now!"

"You were always on the short side," Kagome teased him and gave him a playful swat on the shoulder.

Yuki let out a laugh and nodded, "Yes, I guess that's true."

"Well, come on in! Mom made dinner already," Kagome says and leads the way into the dining room.

"I always loved your mother's cooking," Yuki says before he greets Kagome's mother and grandfather.

Dinner was uneventful; they all just made small talk and stuffed their faces with Kagome's mother's impressive cooking. Kagome was talking excitedly about them going to the movies tomorrow or maybe even going shopping. While shopping didn't really sound like an appealing idea; the movies Yuki was perfectly okay with. But he smiled and nodded as she began to tell him what was new with her life; leaving out the feudal era part.

Kagome wasn't sure how she was going to tell him about that, since he was only staying for a few days. She planned to be around until the end of his visit, so maybe she could avoid it. That's if InuYasha doesn't show up and throw a temper tantrum and drag her back to the feudal era. She certainly hoped he didn't do that; she really wanted to spend time with her beloved cousin.

They stayed up late, playing games, catching up, and just having a fun time. Kagome's mother and grandfather retired to their rooms early and Sota followed soon after. He and Kagome were left lounging around the living room, watching some sitcom that they didn't know the plot to but were laughing at anyways.

The phone began to ring. Kagome excused herself and stood up to go answer it; judging by her greeting and the way she spoke, it was probably one of her friends on the line. She excused herself again with an apologetic hand wave and Yuki merely waved it off as she exited the room.

A light caught his eye. He turned his head to peer curiously at a large yellow backpack leaned up against the far wall, he had been too busy talking with Kagome to really notice at first, but there was a distinct light coming from her backpack. He tried to ignore it; even turn his back on it, but it felt like it was calling to him now. He stood up and made his way over to the backpack. He knew it wasn't a good idea to look through other people's stuff, and he wasn't sure what was making him do this, but he couldn't stop himself. The light only seemed to glow brighter.

He reached into the front pocket of the bright yellow backpack and pulled out a tiny jar. Within it, he could see what appeared to be small purple shards. They seemed to pulse in his palm. He popped the lid open and pulled out one, seeming to be entranced by it.

As he gazed at it, he could hear footsteps approaching. Panicking, he put away the jar back where he found it and stuffed the jewel into his back pocket, scrambling back to where he was sitting and trying to play it cool.

"Miss me?" Kagome greets, hanging up the phone and walking over to sit down next to him once again.

"You know it," Yuki replied, glad she didn't seem to notice his discomfort.

Yuki laid wide awake in bed at 1:00 in the morning. He held the jewel shard in front of his eyes, not sure what it was or why he felt such a pull to it. He should find a way to return it to where he found it; it wasn't his and he shouldn't of taken it in the first place.

For now, he tucked the shard away in the back pocket of a pair of his jeans, should an opportunity arise where he could slip it back into the yellow backpack without anyone noticing, he'd do it. He already felt guilty for taking it in the first place, but he still felt the inexplicable pull towards it... Still, he resolved to return it as soon as he's able to tomorrow, turning on his side and closing his eyes. Hopefully he might be able to get some sleep before Kagome drags him out tomorrow for their 'day of fun', but most of the night he finds himself restlessly tossing and turning.

* * *

Yuki was awakened the next morning upon hearing a loud bang. It was seven in the morning and he was sleepy as hell, but he could hear arguing and then Kagome's voice, "SIT BOY!" followed by another loud bang. He groaned and rubbed his sleepy face, wondering what the hell was going on. He got out of bed and quickly changed into some jeans, a white button up shirt, and a light green sweater jacket. He patted his unkept hair down before exiting his room to see what was going on out there.

What he was faced with, he wasn't sure.

There was a silver haired boy with dog ears standing in the hall and in heated argument with Kagome. He had her arm in a tight grip and was yelling, "We gave you plenty of time in your own era! You need to come back now! Naraku isn't getting any less dead with you dilly-dallying here!"

Dog boy wasn't making any sense, but then again Yuki was still pretty out of it.

Maybe the sleep deprivation was getting to him, "Um, what's going on here?"

Kagome was staring in mortification at Yuki while the silver haired boy just seemed to be irritated, the yellow backpack gripped in one clawed hand.

"I don't have time to explain, kid!" he snapped and grabbed Kagome's arm once again, dragging her away, "You're coming with me, Kagome!"

Before Yuki could try to stop them, they were already out the door.

"Kagome!" Yuki called out, worried for his cousin.

_'Who was that weirdo? Is he abducting his cousin? What's going on?'_

Yuki didn't linger on those thoughts, he was already out the door, slipping on his shoes on the way and peering about outside. He was about to head for the staircase when he caught a glimpse of white hair disappearing into the shed where the Bone Eater's well resides. He's seen the well a few times, and he's always felt a strange pull towards it whenever he was around it, so he frequently tried to avoid getting too close. But Kagome was in danger.

Steeling his nerve, he followed them into the shed, but upon opening it, he didn't see either of them. Glancing about, he made his way down the stairs and peered around in the dark room. He couldn't catch any sight of his cousin or the white haired man that came and grabbed her.

Inching closer to the well, he peered down into its depths. Predictably, he couldn't see them inside the dusty well. But apparently, he was leaning too far over the edge and he lost his balance. His arms waved, frantically trying to keep himself upright, but he fell, headfirst into the well.

' _Oh crap, i'm going to hit my head really hard! or land on my neck!_ '

He closed his eyes and braced himself, but no pain or impact came. He was blinded by a blinding purple light. His eyes opened against the light, and he found himself surrounded by purple and blue light. It felt like he was floating or something; completely weightless. A glowing light was coming from his pocket, and his hand reached in to tug out what appeared to be the jewel he took from Kagome's yellow backpack.

' _The jewel I found... I almost forgotten about it. I put it in this pair of pants last night?_ ' he thought in confusion before he found himself unceremoniously dumped unto the cold floor.

"Okay, that didn't hurt at all," Yuki mumbled to himself, rubbing his head softly as he pushed himself to his feet. He tipped his head back and looked up, only to be greeted by bright sunshine and a nice blue sky.

' _Alright, where did the roof go?_ '

Yuki thought to himself, deadpanning. He pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off; he couldn't stay down here forever. He found some vines running down the inside of the well- which he could swear wasn't there before- and pulled himself up. He climbed up the side of the well with slight difficulty, pulling himself over the edge.

Okay, this is weird.

He was surrounded by forest. Birds sang in the air, a light breeze was rustling the trees and brushed over his cheeks, sweeping his strawberry blonde hair sideways. He pulled himself up and swung his legs over, sliding off unto the soft grass.

' _Grass...? What the hell? Where the hell am I?'_


	2. Curiouser, Curiouser

Yuki had been sitting there, his back against the well for a good fifteen minutes. He was still stunned, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do or where he was supposed to go from here. Wherever he was; he was in uncharted territory and he didn't think wandering around aimlessly would help his situation. But he also realized that he couldn't sit here all day; he had to find some shelter somewhere or at least find his cousin. She and that silver haired guy wasn't in the well's shed so they had to have passed through the well like he did and come here, right? Where ever 'here' was... He felt safer near the well, since it was the only thing familiar about this place, but if he sat here all day it wouldn't do him any good. Nor would it solve his problem right now.

It did occur to him that he could try turning around and jumping back into the well, but that wouldn't find Kagome. He couldn't go back without finding his cousin first and making sure she's okay. As confused and scared as he is, he's unwilling to abandon her all the same. Then again, he wasn't sure if it was even a sure thing that he was able to return to his old world.

So he pushed himself to his feet and began to walk in a random direction. He really didn't know where he was going so he basically just closed his eyes and pointed. He wandered into a dense forest, a chill creeping down his spine. He was extremely worried, and it didn't help that he couldn't see any trails nearby so he had to stomp his way through the underbrush. He walked and walked... And walked. It felt like he'd been walking for miles and there was no sign of his cousin or that silver haired freak. Only bugs and a few wild animals that he was able to avoid with little trouble.

Sighing deeply, he leaned against a tree and slid downwards until he was seated at the roots. He was exhausted, and dirty, and there were insects buzzing around hi8s face. And he was completely, and utterly lost. Not to mention, a little scared. It was starting to get dark, and if he didn't find a place to hole up for the cold night soon, he might run into a wild animal or something! If only he could find an actual person to ask where the nearest city or town or any type of civilization was.

He closed his eyes, promising himself that he's just resting his eyes and would just take a small rest and continue his trek once his legs weren't screaming in pain. He's been walking all day, unable to find anything that could help him, so he's physically spent. The teen couldn't help himself; while being outside was unpleasant and he was dirty, the fresh air lulled him into relaxation. Soon, he was out like a light.

* * *

Kagome sighed softly as she stared up at the star filled sky, safely burrowed in her sleeping bag among her friends, deep in the forest of the past. She was angry at Inuyasha for barging in and abducting her like that; but also worried about her cousin. He watched her get dragged out the house by that dumb Inuyasha! She hoped he wasn't too worried and that he didn't raise too much of an alarm about it. Still, she couldn't exactly blame him if he did, Inuyasha's so forceful sometimes...

"Are you alright Kagome?" Sango's voice stirred her out of her thoughts.

Kagome looked to the side to meet the woman's eyes, "Yeah, I'm just worried about my cousin. That stupid jerk Inuyasha practically kidnapped me in front of him! I just hope he isn't too worried."

"I said I was sorry, didn't I?" Inuyasha snapped from across the dying campfire.

The miko ignored him, still giving him the silent treatment, "I haven't seen him in years and I barely got to spend time with him before Inuyasha was dragging me back to this place!" she huffed, her arms crossing over her chest, "Don't get me wrong; I love being here with you and the others... But I wanted to spend more time with him!"

Sango nodded in sympathy and understanding. Kagome couldn't help but be grateful that she's in their group, tt was so nice having another girl around, she was more easy to talk to and she doesn't have to worry about her butt getting groped or her head being bitten off like she would with Inuyasha or Miroku... Shippo was also easy to talk to to but he's just a kid. The group was currently camped out in the wilderness, back on track to their journey to find all the sacred jewel shards. They were laid out around a campfire and trying to get some sleep; since there were no nearby villages they were able to stop at for the night.

The red clad male glared at the school girl before 'hmphing' and turning away, muttering, "Whatever."

Kagome glared at him, "Sit."

The beads of subjugation glowed around Inuyasha's neck and he was slammed face first into the ground. He let out a grunt of pain and slowly looked up from the dirt, glaring at the girl, "What the hell was that for?"

The black haired miko shot up in her sleeping bag, her brown eyes alight with fury, "For dragging me back here before I wanted to come back, jerk! Why couldn't you wait for a few days?!"

Inuyasha was on his feet now, "Because we have important business here, Kagome! We don't have time to wait around for you to play around in your world! Naraku grows stronger every day! We need to focus on finding all the jewel shards!"

Kagome pouted and laid back down, turning her back on him. Inuyasha blanched at the childish action and sat back down, crossing his legs Indian style and folding his arms over his chest.

Miroku sighed from his place on the opposite side of the fire, "Now, now you two. There's no point in arguing over it any longer."

"Miroku is right, Inuyasha and Kagome," Sango says reasonably.

"Whatever," they say, in sync this time.

* * *

Yuki woke with a jolt, horror spreading through him as he realized that it was dark out already. The sound of the night surrounded him, his only light being from the full moon in the ebony sky. He quickly scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off. He needed to get out of this forest! Find a river or something.

Just as Yuki began walking, he heard an ominous growl behind him. It made him stop in his tracks and his heart drop into his stomach. He began to tremble as the growling only grew louder, and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching him from behind. Swallowing thickly, he slowly turned around to face a pair of red eyes shining within the darkness and staring at him. He gasped in shock and stumbled backwards in terror, tripping over a log and his back connecting with the ground. He let out a grunt of pain and scrambled to sit up as the... The monster slowly appeared from the shadows.

" _ **The shard... The shikon jewel shard! You have it! Give it to me!**_ "

The voice is chilling, wicked, laced with blood lust. Yuki's immediately horrified; his heart drops as he inches back in fear at what appeared in the forest just behind the tree he was sleeping against. A monster that had to be the size of a great oak tree with a bulging purple belly and horns came tearing out of the darkness and straight towards him. Yuki screamed in an unmanly way and dove to the side, dodging the monster's attack only by luck. He grunted as he landed on his side but he scrambled to get his bearings and made a run for it. Naturally, the monster gave a full on pursuit.

' _The shikon jewel shard...? What the hell is that? And why would that... THING think I would have something like that?'_ Yuki thought in terror, picking up the pace but he didn't think that was helping much because he could hear the monster gaining on him.

The monster swung it's mighty fist and knocked Yuki clear off his feet. Yuki was sent flying, knocking into a tree and causing his head to spin.

"Ow..." he groaned, holding his throbbing head.

The monster loomed over him, " _ **GIVE ME THE SACRED SHIKON JEWEL!**_ "

Yuki cried out in terror and covered his head with his arms as that clawed fist jerked out towards him. This thing is going to kill him!

There was no pain. With his eyes closed, he heard a new voice call out, "Not today, worm!" and a scream followed shortly after. As Yuki uncovered his head and peered upwards, the dead corpse of the monster flopped to the ground, dissolving into mere pieces of purple flesh. Yuki openly gagged, his empty stomach churning at the sight; had his stomach not been empty, he probably would've thrown up on the spot.

Standing over it, was a tall man with a long black ponytail and shocking blue eyes. He wore furs and armor on his chest and legs, and Yuki couldn't help but notice just how muscled and tall he was. He blinked up at the male as he stepped over what was left of the monster and approached him further.

"Well, well, just some little human, huh?" the man says with narrowed eyes, his arms crossing over his chest, "How did you come in possession of the sacred shikon jewel?"

Yuki blinked, letting out a sigh as he pushed himself to his feet. He was sore all over, and he was sure that there was a bump on his head. Other than that, he was uninjured thanks to this man, "Th- Thanks for that. And, I- I don't know what this shikon jewel is."

"How can you not know?" the man snapped, advancing on him, "That demon said you had one, so you probably do!"

Yuki stared in shock as his hand automatically went to his front jeans pocket. He bit his lip and looked down, only to notice a strange light coming from the man's legs. He backed away to get a better look, seeing, as clear as day, two of the purple gems that were identical to the one in his pocket glowing through the skin of his legs.

' _Sacred shikon jewel? Is that was this little gem is? Why does he have them embedded in his legs?_ '

Yuki pulled out the little shard from his pocket, "You mean this?"

The man nodded impatiently and held his hand out, "Hand it over, mortal. Unless ya wanna end up like yer little demon friend over there."

The strawberry blond gulped and his golden eyes traveled to what was left of the demon on the ground, and he definitely did not. He'd rather give the man the strange jewel then get killed himself. Maybe if he gave him the shard he can avoid dying in this strange world…

"Alright, alright, here," Yuki says and quickly hands over the shard, taking another step back to put some distance between them, "I don't get why you need it, though. I mean, you already have two in your legs."

He seemed surprised at this fact, which confused Yuki a bit, "You can see the sacred shikon jewels?"

The teenage boy nodded meekly, his eyes still lingering on Kouga's legs, "Yeah, I can also sense when they're close, if that makes any sense. I don't know, when my cous-"

He cut himself off. He couldn't tell the scary stranger that his cousin had more of these jewel shards; if he did, then there was no guarantee that Kagome wouldn't become a target. He didn't want to put her in any danger; especially since she had already been kidnapped by that silver haired beast…

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Yuki says, maybe a bit too quickly, "Anyways, I can see them, so what? Big deal."

The man seemed to be deep in thought, "Hm..." he says, a hand at his chin.

"What?" Yuki asks nervously, not liking the look in his eyes and backing away from him further, "N- Now that you have your shard, I can leave without dying, right?"

"I don't think so," he sneers and advances on him, "Y'see, at first I was tempted to rip you apart and feed your limbs to my wolves. But now that I know that you have the ability to sense the shikon jewel shards, you'll come in handy."

"Huh?!" was all Yuki managed to get out before the brute grabbed him around the waist and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Yuki cried out in surprise and struggled, only when he was over his shoulder did he notice the swinging wolf tail on his lower back, making him squeal in a very unmanly way.

"Y- You're a demon too?! What the hell are you!?"

"I'm obviously a wolf demon you insolent little brat!" said wolf demon snapped in response.

"Put me down, brute!" Yuki shrieked and began to struggle even harder just as said brute began to run. Damn, he was incredibly fast! The ground and trees pass by in a blur, it felt like they were moving through air. Despite how fast they were going, Yuki continued to try and struggle out his grasp. But the wolf's hold was like iron, it was unbreakable. Soon, he grew tired of trying to fight the man off and allowed himself to be carried, wondering where he was taking him.

In that moment, he came to a conclusion.

... He _**hated** _this world, wherever it may be.


	3. Kouga's Decision

"PUT ME DOWN!"

"IF YOU DON'T STOP SQUIRMING I'LL THROW YOU OVER A CLIFF!"

Yuki growled softly in frustration and squirmed more even when he knew it was futile. Despite knowing how screwed he was, his stubbornness stopped him from coming along quietly. Damn him and his big mouth... He just had to mention he could see these freaky jewel shards that was apparently more important than he thought. It seemed that the jewel is desired by demons, so Yuki couldn't help but wonder why his cousin would possess such a jewel, or if she could sense them as well. He had so many questions, but he doubted he'll find closure any time soon. It's complicated, clearly.

They argued in futile for another good five minutes before the wolf demon finally skidded to a stop. Upon scanning his surroundings, Yuki spotted a small waterfall that fell over a cave in the center of a hill. The waterfall fell into a peaceful looking river just below the water fall, and there were a few cliffs near the cave that made it easy to get access to without getting wet. Yuki wasn't sure what time it was, but it was obviously dawn since the sun was beginning to rise over the hills. He must've been out all night if they were just arriving now.

"Hey Kouga! You're back!" a new voice called out in greeting to them.

"Hey Ginta, Hakkaku!" the wolf demon replied, and Yuki could hear the grin in his voice.

 _'Kouga... that must be this jerk's name,_ ' Yuki thought and glared at Kouga's back, as if the wolf demon could see him with the position he was in, still slung over his back like potatoes.

"Who's that? Unless it's... Breakfast?" a different voice asked hopefully, and Yuki could hear the low and hungry growl in his voice.

Yuki gulped nervously.

"Keep your claws to yourself, Hakkaku! You're beginning to gain weight anyways," Kouga snapped in response, not unkindly, mind you.

Yuki sighed in relief, before squirming again, "You can put me down now! Even if I wanted to run away I wouldn't know where!" he pointed out, wanting to be on his own two feet. The indignity of being carried around like this was just embarrassing, and if they were going to end up killing him then at least Yuki would die with some of his pride.

"Fine! Geez, brat," Kouga growls and relinquishes his hold on Yuki, bending over and setting him back on his feet and the strawberry blonde was slightly surprised that the wolf demon didn't just drop him to the ground. But he reached forward and grabbed the teenager's upper arm, hauling him up one of the cliff sides and dragging him in the direction of the cave hidden behind the waterfall.

Fear curled in Yuki's stomach as Kouga took him inside. The cave was bigger than it looked on the outside, and all along the walls and the back of the cave were wolf demons just like Kouga. They were all dressed the same, and wore the same fur pelts that Kouga wore. Some looked more hard around the edges then Kouga did; sporting scars on their necks, faces, legs or arms, as well as eye patches. There was also a small group of wolves near the back at the cave, and they all turned and growled in Yuki's direction when he entered. Yuki whimpered in terror and tried to draw away, but Kouga's hand was firm on his upper arm and he all but dragged him ahead.

"Don't be a chicken shit," the wolf demon says gruffly, turning his face to meet his gaze, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, alright? You're too useful."

Yuki glared murder at him. He refused to acknowledge the small twinge he felt in his heart when Kouga mentioned that he was going to protect him. He was only saying that because he can sense the sacred jewel shards... He wouldn't be in this terrifying cave if it wasn't for the brute that abducted him.

The wolf demons, as well as the regular wolves, drew closer as Kouga pulled him across the cave. Only when they were deep in the cave did they stop at a huge pile of wolf fur. It looked like a pallet. Before he could demand that Kouga set him free(for the sixth time in the last ten minutes...) he was shoved unceremoniously down unto the soft pallet. Wolf demons circled around him, licking their jaws and taunting him.

"Who's the boy, Kouga?"

"Can we eat him?"

"I call dibs on a thigh!"

Yuki, despite what Kouga said earlier, began to shake with terror. He inched away across the pallet, shaking hands held to his chest.

"This boy is off limits," Kouga snarled; Yuki blinked in surprise at the ferocity of his tone, "I'll kill anyone who tries to take a bite!"

The wolf demons flinched; nodding and murmuring in understanding and slight terror before backing off. He breathed out a sigh of relief as they trickled away from the pallet to go sulk about not being able to eat the new human. Kouga explained the situation to his people, and they all seemed to understand why they weren't allowed to eat him. Even though Yuki was still confused as to why him being able to see these mysterious shards would be useful to them.

Kouga soon returned to the pallet and sat on the edge of it, "As long as you do what I say and help us find those shikon jewel shards, no one's going to eat you, got that short stuff?"

Yuki nodded, albeit a bit meekly, "Can you please explain why this shikon jewel shard is so important to you and your tribe?"

"Tch, you don't know anything do you? Do you even know what the sacred shikon jewel is?" Kouga replies, and Yuki didn't appreciate the impatient bite to his tone.

"No, I don't."

"Ironic how such a strong ability is given to a kid who doesn't even know how to use it..."

And now Yuki was offended, "Are you going to keep on insulting me or tell me what it is already?" he asked through gritted teeth and a twitching eyebrow, "And I'm not a kid," he added and crossed his arms over his thin chest.

Kouga sighed in exasperation, "Well, it's hard to explain. To put it in simple terms; there was once a jewel called the sacred shikon jewel. And sometime over fifty years ago it was put under the protection of some priestess. This jewel grants anyone who wields it immense power. It was also said that the jewel could grant any wish made. I'm guessing that's why it was put under that priestesses protection. I'm not sure what happened, but it was said that the priestess died and the jewel shard disappeared along with her. But not long ago, it appeared again. Some idiot shattered it, and it scattered in shards. Now, we're trying to collect as many shards as we can, to strengthen my tribe."

"Sounds very selfish," Yuki grumbled and side eyed him suspiciously.

"That's not the only reason," Kouga grumbled and gave the boy a glare that silenced whatever protest was rising to his lips, "Y'see, there's a reason why we need jewel shards so bad. We're currently in a war against these other demons called birds of paradise. They've been killing my wolves and my comrades and it's not getting any better. That's where you come in. The more shikon jewel shards we find, the better. Especially since I'm convinced that the birds have some in their possession, and if we take the ones they have then it will strengthen our side considerably."

Yuki nodded, beginning to understand why they needed him. It didn't mean that he appreciated the kidnapping or that he wouldn't try to flee whenever a chance was given to him to do so. But at least he was figuring out what this mysterious jewel shard is.

However, what he didn't understand, was why he was able to see them.

"Not all people can see the sacred jewel shards like I can, right?" Yuki says hesitantly, his golden eyes meeting Kouga's, "Why can I?"

"No idea. As far as I know, the ability is passed down through blood. Or if you're a priest or priestess. Or even if you have spiritual abilities. Do you have a family member who's a priest or priestess?"

Yuki shrugged and shook his head, "As far as I know, no. And I'm not a priest, I barely know what that is."

"You must have inherited some spiritual powers then," Kouga says with a shrug, his arms crossing over his chest, "Anyways, it's like I said. You help us find the jewel shards, and I protect you, feed you, and give you a decent place to sleep. Is it a deal?"

Yuki nodded and looked down. He couldn't try and run, could he? Even if he got the opportunity to do so, Kouga would just find him. Kouga knew this area way better then Yuki did; the strawberry blonde wouldn't even know which way to go if he managed to escape.

The teenage boy peered up; his eyes making contact with Kouga's once again. His stupid heart skipped a beat at the intense way the brute was looking at him; like he was trying to memorize every line of Yuki's face and body. Yuki quivered underneath the scrutiny; feeling uncomfortable and suddenly a bit flushed.

"Go to sleep," he says gruffly and tosses fur pelt over him, and it was surprisingly warm and soft.

"Why?" Yuki asked, peeking over the pelt at the strong wolf demon.

"Because you look awful. Maybe some sleep will help fix that," the wolf demon says as he got up from the pallet and marched over to the opposite wall, leaning back against the rough cave wall and closing his eyes.

Yuki sighed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he grumbled and turned on his side, burrowing himself in the furs and closing his eyes.

_'Ugh, why has my life gotten more complicated over the coarse of twelve hours...'_

* * *

When Yuki woke up the next morning, it was because of a loud ruckus going on in the cave. He opened his eyes, nearly forgetting where he was for a moment until he saw what he was covered in. A fur wolf pelt. He pushed it down and sat up, rubbing his eye with one sleeve and peering around to see what was going on.

There were demons being carried into the cave, three of them in total, and they looked severely injured. One was bleeding profusely from his side, another had a gash on his temple and was curled into himself in pain, and the last was holding his bleeding arm and blood was coming from his mouth.

"What happened?" Yuki asked, getting up from the bed and making his way over to where they were laying the injured wolves down.

"They were attacked by the birds of paradise," a wolf demon tells him.

 _'The demons Kouga told me about the other day..._ ' Yuki thought as he watched one of the injured wolves toss and turn in pain, _'They did this?'_

"Where's Kouga?" he asks and peers around.

"He's out on a hunt. We've sent word to him; so he's probably on his way back now," the demon he remembered by the name of Ginta spoke up.

Yuki's eyes lingered on the hurt wolves, "Okay, I'm going to tend to their wounds," it was a good thing that Yuki spent the majority of his life fixing up his own scrapes and cuts. His mother never paid that much attention to him, even when he was a kid. The young boy stooped down next to the most hurt demon, examining his wound.

"The wound looks deep, I'll need some water to wash away the blood, and rags or fabric to stop the bleeding. If you have herbs or something that will prevent infection and help heal the wound faster, that would be good too," Yuki says as he reassures the wolf that he was going to be fine. The wolf stared up at him with hazy, pain filled eyes and merely groaned in response. This would be much easier if he had medical supplies from his era, but he would make do with what he had here.

When his directions were not responded to, he looked up to see the group of wolf demons staring at him in what appeared to be shock.

Yuki's anger rose, "Don't just stand there like idiots, get moving!" he snapped.

The wolves snapped to attention, surprised at themselves, they began to search for what Yuki demanded.

Kouga had gotten word of what happened and cut the hunting trip short. He rushed back to his den, expecting the worse. He's learned to expect the worse when it comes to those flying nuisances. With a dead boar over his shoulder and his wolves at his heels, he made his way up the cliff and into the den.

What greeted him was something he certainly wasn't expecting.

Yuki sat between the rows of injured wolves. He was tending to the last wolf's wound, wiping at the blood dripping down his temple and dabbing water across his forehead to cool him down. He was entirely focused on his task, not bothering to look up when Kouga entered or even when he made his presence known. He set the dead boar down and stepped closer to the crowd of demons, pushing wolves out his way to get closer to Yuki and Ginta, who stood by him.

"Tell me the whole story of what happened," Kouga says to Ginta, not taking his eyes off of Yuki.

"We heard their calls for help. They were apparently finishing up their morning patrol when they were ambushed. The birds are pushing further and further into our territory, it seems," Ginta replied and looked back towards Yuki, "It's thanks to Yuki that we got them all patched up; none were fatally wounded. But we lost two of our wolves to them; they were carried away by the birds."

"Damn those birds," Kouga murmured and knelt down by one of the hurt wolves, "Get some rest and try not to move around too much."

"You got it, boss," the wolf replied in a strained voice, "It's all thanks to the hostage that I feel much better; he appears to be much more than a jewel detector."

The wolf closed his eyes, and drifted into sleep.

Kouga's eyes raised to Yuki, who was finishing up on the third demon and wrapping up his hurt head in a clean cloth. He got the bleeding in his temple to stop, and after he applied the herbs that the wolves gave him, he should make a full recovery.

Yuki peered up to find Kouga staring at him, and a light flush raised to his cheeks before he quickly looked back down at what he was doing. Kouga couldn't help but smirk lightly, deciding that he liked what he saw in the young boy, ' _Cute..._ ' he thought as he pushed himself to his feet and crossed his arms in front of him. The boy had the ability to see the sacred jewel shards, and now it appeared he had an extensive knowledge of medicine and healing wounds. Kouga was even impressed by how the boy seemed to adapt well with the wolves already. In that moment, he made a decision.

_'I'm going to take him as my mate.'_


	4. Declaration of Love

It was about a week since Yuki was abducted by Kouga and forced to be the demon wolf tribe's 'jewel detector'. Strangely, it wasn't so bad. Kouga kept the boy on a short leash, of course, but Yuki wasn't scared of him or of the rest of the wolf pack anymore. Everyone was treating him with respect now; it probably had something to do with how he nursed the injured wolves back to health when they were attacked by those demonic birds. 'Birds of Paradise' is what Kouga called them. Those three wolves were now up and about because of him, and it kind of made Yuki feel proud of himself. Kouga had been praising him all week because of that.

Speaking of Kouga, the wolf demon was acting… Different. Ever since he helped save those three demons, Kouga has been really kind to him. He brought Yuki food, making sure that it was cooked since Yuki's weak human stomach couldn't handle raw foods like Kouga could, he let Yuki sleep in his private quarters away from the rest of the tribe, and he also allowed Yuki to go out on walk. With another wolf or even Kouga himself accompanying him, of course.

Sometimes Yuki forgot that he was technically a prisoner. A few chances popped up for him to try and escape, but he never took them. The wolves fed him and never hurt him, and he had nowhere else to go. He knew nothing of the world he was in, these wolves were his only protection and he'd be a fool to run off now. But he did worry over his cousin, if she was alright, and if she knew that silver haired dog boy that grabbed her and took off with her like that.

Today, he found himself rinsing off in a nearby stream. He had gotten so sweaty and gross over the course of this week and he never got a chance to try and bathe or anything. His clothes also seriously needed to be washed.

He breached the surface of the water and pushed strawberry blond hair out his eyes. He had been swimming around for what seemed like hours already; his hands and feet were beginning to get pruney, which meant that he needed to get out soon. He made his way to the side of the river and climbed back onto the grassy surface. He picked up a nearby white robe, and wrapped his petite body in it. The robe was given to him by Kouga a few days ago; amongst the other things he'd gotten him to 'assist his human needs'. He tied cloth around his waist to keep it in place before making his way over to a nearby burning fire to check and see if his clothes were dry yet.

"Are you done yet?"

Yuki spun around to face Kouga, who was standing right behind him. He let out a sigh, his cheeks blushing in his half dressed state, "You startled me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Kouga apologized, but there's a slight smirk on his lips as he reached forward and gently brushed wet bangs out Yuki's eyes, his clawed fingers left spots of electricity on Yuki's skin, the young boy suppressed a shiver.

Another strange habit that Kouga has picked up towards him was the touching. It was gestures like these that were frequent from him for the past week. He would put his arms around Yuki's shoulders or waist, or take his wrist in his hand. He also developed a habit for standing really close. Like now, for instance, he could smell Kouga's scent, his taller, more muscled body mere inches from him. He swallows thickly, heart thudding loudly.

"It's fine," Yuki replies, gulping lightly and taking a step back, "Anyways, I should be done soon. Why? Is there something you needed?"

"Nah, just checking on you," Kouga replies, watching him with those intense blue eyes. Yuki wasn't sure how to respond to that so he turned to his clothes and began to redress. He could feel Kouga's gaze on him the entire time, and his patience snapped. He wasn't sure why Kouga's hovering so intently, but it's making him nervous.

"What are you staring at?" He eventually asks as he pulls on his shirt, turning back around to face the wolf demon.

Kouga barely blinked, "You, obviously," he said in a blunt tone, "Have you seen yourself?"

Yuki's blush deepened, "You mean to say... You were admiring?"

"Wow, you really are quick witted," Kouga replies with an eye roll and an amused chuckle, one that Yuki returns with an annoyed glare. He had no idea what this meant.

"You... You like men?" he asks, a bit shocked. He took Kouga for many things, but not gay.

"Look, this is pretty new to me as well, I don't know or care to know if I like all men," Kouga says flippantly, waving a hand in the air, "Here's the deal; I've decided to court you. I've never been interested in men, but I'm certainly interested in you."

That took a moment for Yuki to process, and even after he did, he still didn't quite get it. His face is fully red though, he had no idea Kouga looked at him in that way. Somehow he felt... Flattered? He cleared his throat awkwardly, "And by courting you mean…"

"I mean that I intend to make you my mate," Kouga says plainly.

Yuki's face fell; he went from blushing lightly to resembling a tomato. That was the last thing he expected to hear from Kouga. The hot red blush spread from his neck and up to his face, touching the tips of his ears. Kouga found the sight adorable, and he couldn't help but let a smirk curve his lips. He reached forward and cupped the young boy's chin in his palm, his thumb rubbing over Yuki's lower lip gently, "That's right, little human, you are mine. In every aspect, now."

"St—Stop it!" Yuki squeaks, smacking Kouga's hand away and taking another few steps back, "You can't just decide something like that on your own! Quit screwing around! I'm not some maiden you can claim as yours! Why do you even want to mate with another guy anyways?"

"You ask that as if it makes a difference to me. I don't care what gender you are! I love you!" Kouga declared, now advancing on him. Yuki, of course, backed away until his back hit the rock. Kouga's quick to put his hands against the boulder near his head, trapping him. He's stuck between Kouga and the large rock behind him, he gulped nervously once again.

"Aren't there rules against this or something?" Yuki asks nervously as Kouga looms in front of him, so close that he could feel the heat of Kouga's body and his breath on his face.

"The rules of the tribe don't apply to me, little human. I'll mate with whoever I want to," Kouga says, sounding quite proud of himself and that made Yuki's heart involuntarily flutter. Was it that proud attitude that Yuki liked? The teenage boy hasn't been attracted to a man before, then again he hasn't really dated either. He's only dated one girl and it only lasted for a week.

Kouga leaned very close to his face, his hands resting on Yuki's hips, "Wolves mate for life so you're mine now, got it?"

Yuki blushed an even darker red, completely stunned, "K—Kouga!"

"Hey Kouga!"

Thank god for Ginta's unintentional interruption. Yuki managed to wiggle free and flee a safe distance away from the wolf, a heavy blush on his cheeks as Ginta appeared from over the cliff near the waterfall.

"What?" Kouga snapped, the irritation clear in his voice as he spun to face his friend.

"A thief has made off with one of the sacred shikon jewel shards!"

This grabs Yuki's attention as the young lad turns back around to look up at Ginta, "How long ago?"

The wolf demon looks at him, "Not long! Maybe about an hour ago?"

Yuki nodded and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. He was getting better at sensing where the jewel shards are, now he was able to tell if one was nearby or not. He felt a twinge and looked in the direction of west, "He hasn't gotten too far; we can catch up to him if we move now."

Kouga drew extremely close to him yet again, his face mere inches from his, making Yuki's body flush, "I'll gather up some wolves to come with us."

Yuki blushed at the close proximity but nodded his head, "Al—Alright."

* * *

By the time they set out, the jewel had gotten quite a distance away. But with Kouga's speed, they caught up easily. Yuki rode on his back, clinging to his neck as he shouted which way to go. Eventually, they caught up to him in a small village, where the thief tried to hide himself. He tried to escape through a river, but even in the river the wolves jumped on his back and dragged him to the surface. Yuki tried not to watch as some wolves attacked villagers that were milling around.

The thief was dragged to Kouga's feet; Kouga bent down and demanded the jewel shard back. Seeing that he had no other option, the man handed it back over without any fuss.

Yuki has never seen Kouga so… Intense before.

"Thank you letting me live," the thief babbled, still on his knees.

Kouga smirked, but it wasn't a smirk that Yuki was familiar with. It was a sinister one, an evil one. Suddenly Kouga turned around… And tore out the man's throat.

"Fool," he sneered and flapped his blood soaked hand in the air, getting the blood off his claws, "I would've forgotten."

Yuki shuddered.

"Alright, I got what I want," he put his clean hand on Yuki's forearm and began to drag him away, still addressing his wolves as he walked away with Yuki in tow, "We're heading back. You stay in the village and feed to your heart's content, then catch up to us when you're done."

Yuki's heart dropped, hoping that he'd heard wrong, "What? K—Kouga you can't just—"

Yuki's protest is cut off as Kouga picked him up bridal style and took off with him in his arms. Yuki could hear the villagers screaming in terror as the wolves began to devour everybody in sight.

"Kouga!" Yuki snapped as they headed back towards the wolf demon den. They were halfway there when Yuki shoved harshly against his chest, managing to wiggle free and land on his butt. Kouga finally stopped running.

"What's your problem, Yuki?" Kouga snapped, irritated that they'd stopped.

"My problem is you! How could you tell your wolves to slaughter an entire village?!" Yuki yelled right back at him, pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off.

Kouga looked genuinely confused, "What do you mean, 'why'? They gotta eat too."

"Then have them hunt animals!" Yuki insisted, his eyes getting teary, "Those villagers are innocent! They've done nothing to hurt you! I understand why you killed the thief… But you didn't need to have your wolves hunt those humans too!"

"They're just humans! What's the big deal?"

"I'm a human too, jackass!" Yuki snapped back, his voice rose a pitch in his anger, his hands balled into fists at his sides, "Would you have your wolves kill me too if I wasn't valuable to you?"

Kouga narrowed his blue eyes at him, his tone evening out, "It's not the same—"

"It is!"

Before Kouga could retort, the sound of howls echoing from far away interrupted them. Kouga's keen ears could pick up the sounds easily, but Yuki had to strain to hear it. The young boy was silent for a moment before, noticing Kouga's tense body language, asked, "What is it?"

"Something's happened. Back at the village; I'm being called for help," Kouga explained tersely. He sighed and looked at Yuki, "You head back to the den by yourself. Don't you dare try to run away; you know I will find you."

Yuki blinked in confusion, "Where are you going?"

"Back to the village to see what's happened; they need my help," the wolf demon says before he takes off, that hurricane like smoke surrounding him as he raced away, calling over his shoulder as he went, "Don't dawdle! Get back to the den!"

"You're not the wolf tribe leader of me," Yuki grumbled. He focused his senses on the jewel shards in Kouga's legs, before he took off in a much slower jog after the wolf demon.

It took Yuki a good 10 minutes to catch up to Kouga. It was a good thing that the village wasn't that far from where Kouga left him. The young boy stopped at a tree and leaned against it, taking a moment to catch his breath before he passed by the trees and entered the village. From this distance, he could see Kouga facing a group of people. He couldn't quite make out their faces though.

One of the wolves barked at him as he approached, and it caught Kouga's attention. The wolf demon spun around to see Yuki standing a few yards away, "Moron, I told you to go back to the den!"

Yuki rolled his eyes, he's still panting as he called back, "Quit ordering me around!" even though he was breathless and shaking with fatigue. He was never going to run that kind of distance again. He kept panting to catch his breath, approaching Kouga slowly and trying to see who he was facing. He couldn't see very well through the dust that was kicked up during their scrape.

Then, a much softer and familiar voice called out, "Yuki?"

Yuki looked to the group of people that faced Kouga and his eyes widened as soon as he locked eyes with her, he instantly recognized the dark haired beauty that stood among the group or strangers, "Kagome?"


	5. Reunion

Yuki was relieved to see that his cousin was okay, though he did notice that she was standing beside the guy that kidnapped her. Judging by how close she was standing to him, he observed that they were friends. What kind of double life is she leading? He wonders, noting that she was in her school uniform, it was odd seeing something else as familiar as a school uniform in this era.

Kagome looked like she was panicking quite a bit, the look she was giving him was like he'd grown a second head, "Yuki!" she shouted, as if he hadn't heard her the first time, "What in the world are you doing here!?" she called across to him.

Kouga's eyes drifted from Yuki, to Kagome, and then back to Yuki. He'd noticed how beautiful the girl was, and it did nothing to calm his rising annoyance. Kouga has always been the jealous type; he sent a pointed glare towards the miko, but she didn't seem to notice.

"It's a long story," Yuki says sheepishly and takes a step forward, but a nearby wolf blocked his way and growled lightly at him. The blond bit his lip and remained where he was; he'd forgotten that he was technically a prisoner.

"Who's that Kagome?" a pretty lady standing next to Kagome asked.

"He's my cousin," she explained, "The one I'd thought I left behind in the modern era."

"You mean the cousin you went to go visit a few weeks ago?" a male who stood on the other side of the pretty lady asked, he was holding a staff in his hand and observing Yuki closely, "How did he end up here? And it seems that he knows that wolf demon."

"I wish I didn't," Yuki grumbled.

"I heard that you little brat!" Kouga snapped in irritation, unsure of why he was allowing all this chit-chatting. At least he'd learned that Kagome is Yuki's cousin, but it did nothing to cool the rising flames of his jealousy. Cousins getting married was considered normal in his era.

"If I'm guessing correctly, it seems that Yuki is being held captive."

"You'd be guessing correctly," Kouga smirked and glared tauntingly at the man holding the staff, making his way over to Yuki and putting a strong arm around his waist. Yuki knew Kouga was just doing it to prove a point, and he attempted to escape from his hold, "Yuki is mine, so you can forget about leaving with him."

"Can we get past all the arguing? Are we going to fight or not?" The silver haired guy finally spoke up, glaring right at Kouga, "I'll teach ya that you can't claim anyone as your property!"

"That's what I've been saying for the past week," Yuki grumbled and shoved against Kouga's chest, but Kouga held unto him so tight that he couldn't budge or move away.

"Inuyasha, please save him!" Kagome calls out from behind him.

 _'Inuyasha… What a strange name_ ,' Yuki thought as he watched the silver haired male in question raise his sword a bit. The blond blanched at the size of the weapon, it was huge, it had to be hard to swing around.

"Don't worry about it, wench, I'll save him."

Kouga didn't look that impressed, he chuckled and finally released Yuki, cracking his knuckles, "Bring it on, mutt."

"D- Did you just call me a mutt?!" the silver haired male replied in astonishment, his mouth half open.

"No, that'd be an insult to K9's, you smell much worse!"

Yuk fought the urge to roll his eyes, were these two going to actually fight or just taunt each other? He took a few steps out the way, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of whatever is about to go down. He's never seen Kouga fight someone before, and Yuki would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about Inuyasha as well… This era just got more and more curious.

"Oh yeah? How about I hack your nose off and see how well you can smell after?" the male challenged and leaped into the air, coming down towards Kouga with that huge sword of his.

Yuki was thrown back by Kouga, landing flat on his ass but he was a safe distance away as the wolf demon leaped into the air to dodge the big sword.

"Careful Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded him, taking a few steps closer to the battle, "You could've hit Yuki!"

Inuyasha growled and looked over his shoulder at her, "Shut it wench, I knew where I was swinging!"

This response, of course, only fueled Kagome's irritation to anger, "Well if you're gonna be rude then I won't tell you that he has jewel shards in his right arm AND his legs!"

Yuki was recovering from his fall as he registered the shouted words, he only had to wonder how she knew for a few seconds. The jewel shard in her bag, her presence in this era… Was it the same purpose as his? To find the sacred jewel shard? Was she a priestess as well? There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he found his attention drawn back to Kouga and Inuyasha going back and forth. Kouga evading Inuyasha's attacks, and Inuyasha seemed to get frustrated at every missed swing.

Kouga got a safe distance away, side glancing at Yuki to make sure that he was safe. He was surrounded by his wolves, making sure nobody got too close. Yuki was his, and he'd kill anyone who tried to take him away.

"Hah, no wonder you're so fast, it's cause you have jewel shards jammed in your skinny legs and arm!" Inuyasha taunted, one hand resting on his hip, his sword laid over his shoulder in a casual manner.

"Doesn't matter, I'll kick your ass either way!" Kouga shot back; this mutt was so irritating!

"You don't get bragging rights for strength that's not even yours!"

"Then why don't you come over here and do something about it, dog breath?!"

Yuki was rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Surprisingly, those two were more alike than he thought. They were both hot headed idiots.

"Yuki!"

Yuki turned around in time to see his cousin running towards him. A wolf jumped in front of Yuki protectively and snarled in warning at her as two more wolves flanked its sides.

"Don't Kagome!" The woman standing next to her stopped her, "Those wolves will tear you apart. Let me take care of them!"

She jumped into the air and threw what looked like a giant boomerang towards the wolves. Some moved out the way, but the one in front got hit and split in half.

Now that the coast was clear, Kagome shouted a quick, "Thanks Sango!" before she ran towards Yuki and threw her arms around his shoulders, "I can't believe you're here! Thank kami you're safe now."

Yuki smiled gently, the warmth from his cousin was familiar, and comforting. He hadn't felt such a hug in over weeks, except from Kouga. Although Kouga seemed intent on jumping his bones, so it wasn't the same as receiving a hug from him. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug, letting out a relieved sigh.

Kouga turned from his fight with Inuyasha and glared daggers at the wench, "Get your hands off him, filthy girl!" He leaped into the air and away from Inuyasha, now running full speed for Yuki and Kagome. Inuyasha gave chase, but he was not as fast as Kouga was.

"Leave them alone! Your opponent is me!"

Inuyasha's yell was ignored, but it jostled Yuki to look up and see Kouga running right for him with his claws extended.

Yuki, thinking fast, shoved Kagome away with all his strength. Kagome landed a few feet away, and Kouga ended up only hitting the ground in front of Yuki, the exact spot Kagome was standing in a few seconds ago.

"You could've killed her!" The blond scolded the wolf, smacking him on the shoulder. The smack did nothing but hurt his hand.

"That was the idea, yeah," Kouga responded with a sly grin thrown at Yuki, "No one touches what's mine."

"I'M NOT YOUR PROPERTY!"

Kagome sweat dropped, 'I wonder what the relationship is between these two...'

"Are you okay Kagome?!" Inuyasha called as he rushed to Kagome's side and helped her to her feet, "Did that mangy wolf hurt you?"

Kagome shook her head, "I'm fine, thanks to Yuki."

Kouga turned to Inuyasha, "Why don't you tell your woman to keep her hands to herself?"

"YOU'RE one to talk! You're the one who kidnapped her cousin!" Inuyasha fired back, stepping protectively in front of Kagome.

Kouga scoffed, "Look here mutt- you and your friends bore me."

"Hand over the boy!"

"You'll have to make me!"

They went back to fighting, Inuyasha swinging his deadly sword while Kouga dodged his attacks rather easily. More wolves crowded around Yuki, probably on Kouga's orders.

Yuki watched the fight, awed by Kouga's style of fighting. He sure was fast; he was dodging Inuyasha's attacks like the silver haired male was going in slow motion. He landed a few kicks, but seemed to be waiting for more of an opening.

Suddenly, Kouga pulled away from the fight, "Let's get outta here!" He yelled as he landed on top of a nearby house, "This fight is too dangerous!"

Before Yuki could react to what was happening, Kouga was in front of him and picking him up bridal style. Then, they were moving swiftly through the forest.

"Yuki!" Kagome yelled after her cousin, but he was long gone.

"He ran away?" Sango says, confusion etched into her tone.

"I guess so," Inuyasha says as he walked over to join the others, "Don't worry Kagome, I have his scent memorized, and it hasn't faded yet. We can catch up to them."

That soothed Kagome's worry a little bit, "Yeah, and I can still sense his shards, too. We'll find them."

"What do you think your cousin was doing here, Kagome?" Miroku asked curiously.

"I haven't the slightest clue," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders, "Maybe he slipped and fell down the well and couldn't get back."

"Doesn't matter how he got here," Inuyasha says and sheaths his sword, "Only matters that we get him back. Let's hurry up and go after him, alright Kagome?"

She nodded, giving the hanyou and grateful smile, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

* * *

"Well that could've gone better! You could've killed my cousin!"

"Why do you care so much about that wench?!"

"Her name is Kagome and it's because she's my family you jerk! Now you listen here, if you ever make an attempt on her life again, you can forget about me finding you jewel shards or helping you at all! I don't care what you do to me!"

Kouga gritted his teeth and groaned in frustration. Yuki just didn't get how the woman was a threat to what they have, "She'll come in between us."

Yuki's cheeks heated up, shimmering to a slight pinkish color, "She's my cousin, not my girlfriend! And I'm not interested in her like that! Besides, there's nothing for her to come in between! I'm not your boyfriend, or mate for that matter!"

Kouga burned with anger and jealousy, his hands curled into fists by his sides. He both loved and hated how quick Yuki is with his retorts, the boy is too damn smart for his own good.

"I'd hate to interrupt Kouga," Ginta suddenly approached, his expression showing that he was practically forced by the others to deliver this news.

"What is it?" Kouga asked, grouchily.

"Two of our patrols were hit by the birds of paradise," Ginta reported, "No survivors."

"Dammit, this has gone on long enough," Kouga growled, turning from Yuki to Ginta, "We're going to have to end this tonight, the longer we drag it out, the more men we lose. Tonight, we go to the nest and we kill every last one of those sons of bitches!"

Kouga turned to look at his intended, "You need to be prepared as well. You're going to be with me in the battlefield, hunting down the leader of the birds of paradise. He's the one who has all the jewel shards. Think you can manage that, little human?"

Yuki twitched at that stupid nickname but nodded in response, "Guess I'll have to."


	6. War

Yuki's feet were hurting, he was convinced that he'd spent more time walking in the past month rather then in his old life. While it was getting easier to walk long distances, the toll on his body was getting hard to bear.

He had insisted on walking on his own two feet, because his pride couldn't stand another blow from being carried like a bride by Kouga. Who, apparently, was still sulking about their little argument earlier. Geez, he says he's not mated to the guy, and he acts like Yuki just crushed his dreams. It was… Strange. Kouga has never shown such passive behavior about how angry he really was.

They had been on their way to the battlefield, also known as, the birds of paradise nest, and Yuki insisted on jogging with the rest of the 'regular' wolf demons. He could keep on a jog as long as the next guy could, but the wolf demons had their strength and resilience, meanwhile Yuki was only running for a few minutes before losing his breath completely. The wolves seemed impressed with his stubbornness, but Yuki had to fight every exhausted urge to ask Kouga to carry him.

Eventually, they made it to the battlefield, the group ducked behind a few rocks to prepare for their attack.

"Yuki and I will go find the leader of this nest," Kouga spoke up, hovering above the others, his blue eyes meeting the hazel ones of the teenage boys', "Once you locate the bird, I will take him down. Then, the rest of his parakeets will follow."

Yuki gulped nervously but nodded his understanding, "I got it. A- All I have to do is find the shard right?"

"Yeah, exactly," Kouga leaned over him and wrapped an arm around his waist, holding eye contact as he lifted him bridal style, once again, "C'mon Yuki, the rest of you, you all know what to do."

Next thing Yuki knew, he was flying through the air and running up the side of a mountain. Well, Yuki himself wasn't running, of course. He was clinging to the wolf demon who thought it was a good idea to fight through a huge flock of bird demons. Yuki kept his eyes closed in fear, but Kouga managed to dodge the majority of attacks and even kill a few. He had to say, he was impressed by Kouga's skill and strength.

"Come on, Yuki! Pay attention!" Kouga's sharp, masculine voice shook Yuki out his thoughts, "Now, which one of these winged beasts has a jewel shard?" Kouga questioned, dodging another few attacks as he neared the top of the cliff.

Yuki closed his eyes and focused as hard as he could; he wasn't a master at this, but he could feel a twinge near the top of the mountain. Upon opening his eyes and looking upwards, he could see the faint shine from the very top where the nest was.

"It's at the very top," Yuki told the wolf demon as they stopped on a ledge.

Just as he said this, the rock next to them began to crumble and burst. Kouga's quick reaction barely got them out of the way in time. Another bird demon swooped down towards them, and Yuki could only brace himself as Kouga leapt through the air and avoided the demon's attack.

They landed on the ground among a group of wolf demons, "Take care of Yuki," he says as he lets said boy down.

"What about you?" Yuki grabbed Kouga's arm before he could run off.

"I'm gonna kill that ugly ass bird," Kouga put his hand on top of Yuki's, and gave it a gentle squeeze, "It's cute how you worry about me."

Yuki's face flushed a bright red, "I- I'm not worried!" he snatched his hand away, before his face softened a bit, "Be careful."

"Right," Kouga gave him a wink before he turned and leapt up on the nearest ledge on the mountain, making his way upwards. Yuki watched him go before allowing the wolf demons to lead him to safety.

Yuki ran for cover when one of the bird demons swooped down towards him. This was almost too much; there were dead bodies almost everywhere. Wolves and bird alike. He swallowed nervously, skidding to a halt underneath a rock overhang.

"Stay here," one of the wolves commanded him. Yuki nodded dumbly as he watched the demons run off, back into the thick of the fighting.

Only a few moments passed when he suddenly heard his name being called, " ... -uki! ... Yuki!"

He gets up, he could swear that was the voice of his cousin. He ran out from under the rock and looked around, "Kagome?" he called back, but he only saw the demonic birds and some wolves fighting. He pushed past them, trying to stay low so he wasn't captured, or killed.

Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet and landed right on his back. He groaned and opened his eyes in time to see a bird demon swooping down towards him. He didn't have enough time to get to his feet, all he could do was brace himself for death.

He closed his eyes... And nothing happened.

"Iron reaver soul stealer!"

His eyes snapped open in time to see the dead body of the bird land right in front of him. On top of it, a familiar man with long silver hair and dog ears stood, "We've been looking for ya."

"Inuyasha?" Yuki says, stumbling to his feet.

"Keh, come on kid, you're going home," Inuyasha says, jumping down from the bird's body and landing next to him, "That is what you want, right?"

Yuki looked up at him, he honestly wasn't sure if he did. Images flashed before his eyes, images of his mother, his poor mother probably worried and wondering where he is. Maybe his long absence, for once, worried her. Or, maybe her drinking got worse. Hell, she could be dead for all he knew. And if she was okay, did he really want to return back to that kind of environment?

"I guess so," he replied in a small voice, prompting Inuyasha to look at him funny.

"Yuki!" Kagome appeared from behind the dead bird, running towards her cousin and lunging to hug him around the neck, "That was close! Are you okay?"

Yuki could barely breathe past the concerned yet iron like grip she had on him, "I'm fine, Kagome," he reassured her, returning the hug.

Kouga was only a few feet off the ground, trying to make his way to the top of the mountain where the nest was, when he recognized the yell of his mate's name. He turned his head just in time to see Kagome and Yuki hugging in front of a dead bird's body, with Inuyasha standing a few feet from them.

"Oi!" Kouga yelled from his position, glaring daggers at the two, "What did I tell you about touching what's mine? Don't make me come down there and rip your throat out, filthy wench!"

Yuki quickly pushed Kagome away, giving her an apologetic smile before yelling back, "She's my cousin, you doofus!" he turned to face him, "And I'm not yours!"

"Hey dogbreath!" Kouga calls out, seemingly ignoring what Yuki just said, "Why don't you take your woman and get lost? No one invited you!"

"Shut up, you mangy wolf!" Inuyasha shot back, moving forward to stand protectively between Kouga, and the two, "You're gonna pay for causing so much trouble! We're taking Yuki home!"

"You're not going anywhere with him!" Kouga retorted, one hand on his hip, the other spinning his spear, "His home is with me now, I'm in love with you, Yuki!"

Yuki's face blushed so red he resembled a tomato, _'Please don't do this...'_

"You don't need to go home to anyone, because your home is here with me! That wench will never make you feel the way I will, so forget about her! You don't need wenches like her anyways!" the wolf demon boasted, a cocky smirk on his lips, "Once you've been with a real warrior like me, you won't go back to scraps again!" Kouga declared, a laugh following his words as his fellow tribe mates laughed and whistled in approval.

"He's pretty direct, isn't he?" Kagome's demon fox friend, Shippo commented.

"I wish I had that kind of audacity," Miroku added, and they all turned their heads to see the mortified expression on Yuki's delicate features.

Inuyasha was enraged, his frame quivered slightly and a snarl is set on his lips, ears twitching in irritation, "No one talks like that about Kagome in front of me, how dare you disrespect her, and humiliate her cousin! You'll pay for that, creep!"

Kouga scoffed, "Whatever, mutt face, I'm busy right now, go bug someone else!"

With that, the wolf demon turned and ran up the side of the hill. Inuyasha, predictably, gave chase.

"What's going on here, Yuki?" Miroku asked, looking down at the teenage boy.

Yuki seemed to recover from the humiliation he just suffered and turned to look at him, "These birds of paradise have been harassing the wolf demon tribe for awhile now, and Kouga had enough of it. We're here to, hopefully, end the war."

"I see," Miroku responded before setting his staff aside, "If you value your lives, stand back!" he called, his hand unwrapping beads that were around his right hand.

"Yuki, get down!" Kagome suddenly grabbed the teenage boy by his shoulders and dragged him behind a large boulder.

He was confused, "Wh-"

Before he could finish his question, Miroku unwrapped his beads completely and aimed his hand upwards at the birds of paradise. Yuki had to brace himself against the rock as a powerful wind, seeming to come out of his hand, sucked in the birds from the air. Once the air was completely cleared, Miroku wrapped his hand back up.

"What was that?" Yuki asked Kagome in awe, his eyes still trained curiously on Miroku.

"I'll explain later," Kagome says passively, patting his arm.

Yuki's attention was diverted when he felt the jewel shard move. He looked up and focused his senses, "Kouga! It's another 50 feet up!"

 _'He's helping him?!'_ Inuyasha and Kagome thought in sync, shocked.

"Maybe Kouga isn't so deluded to think Yuki does return his feelings for him..." Miroku mused, he thought he was being quiet enough for the blond to not hear, unfortunately the boy rounded on him with his face flushing a noticeable pink.

"Shut up! I could care less about that brute!"

Miroku took several steps back, Yuki definitely was Kagome's cousin, "Whatever you say."

Yuki was still blushing to the tips of his ears as Kouga called back from near the top of the mountain, "50 feet more? There's nothing at the peak!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow flew out from the clouds and straight at Kouga, "Look out!" Yuki yelled, but the bird had already trapped Kouga against the rock and dragged him upwards.

Yuki could only watch as Kouga shoved a spear into its mouth, but it didn't seem to have much effect. From where Yuki was, he could see that the gash in his arm was deep, and the bird continued to drag him into the air. Finally, after it seemed like forever, Kouga managed to spin and kick it in its' teeth. Quite a few chunks of said teeth fell out and Kouga ended up falling unto the top of the mountain.

After decades, it seemed, Inuyasha got to the top before the bird demon could get back to him. It felt like only a few moments passed before there was a bright light, a shout that sounded like, "Wind scar!" and the bird was obliterated from the sky.

That was strange, did Inuyasha just protect Kouga?

Sango jumped on Kirara, she flew to the top of the mountain and got Kouga down safely.

Yuki helped Kouga down from Kirara and set him comfortably as possible on the ground. The wolf demon was holding his arm, clearly in a lot of pain as he curled in Yuki's arms. Yuki stared down worriedly at him, his eyes on the wound. It looked deep, but not fatally so. The wolf had also suffered from quite a fall, he was scraped up from head to toe. He ran a hand down Kouga's back in an attempt to soothe him, helping him sit up as best as he could.

" ... Now that that's taken care of, all I have to do is finish off that mangy wolf..."

Yuki looked up sharply in time to catch Inuyasha's eyes, "Don't you dare! Kouga is seriously injured, put away your stupid pride for two seconds!"

Both Inuyasha and Kagome was shocked, _'HE'S DEFENDING HIM?!'_

"I- I can still fight..." Kouga grunted stubbornly, brushing off Yuki's attempts to stop him as he begun to shakily stand up.

"Kouga, don't get up," Yuki tried in an insistent voice, hands clutching at his shoulder in an attempt to keep him in place, yet he had no choice but to stand up as well, concerned that the wolf demon would collapse.

"I may be beat, but I'll still be able to whip ya," Kouga said, his voice was confident even if he looked like he got hit by five trucks.

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha was already pulling his sword out, "Bring it!"

Yuki quickly stepped in front of Kouga protectively, "Leave him alone!"

"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome suddenly says. The teenager watched in confusion as an unseen force slammed Inuyasha face first into the unforgiving ground. He actually had to hold back a laugh at the comical sight, but he was too worried about Kouga to ask any questions.

Just as this happened, Kouga tipped forward. The guy was trying to fight, even when he could barely stand on his own two feet? Luckily, Yuki moved fast enough to catch him around his chest, and hold him up. A few other wolf demons stepped forward to help him, but Kouga waved them off.

"Why'd ya do that, Kagome?!" Inuyasha was yelling from his position on the floor.

"Because Yuki's right, enough is enough," Kagome says and faces him, a gentle smile on her features, "Besides, Yuki's safe and that's the only reason we came here for, right?"

The hanyou was obviously not pleased, he glared at her but didn't respond.

Yuki looked over his shoulder at his cousin, "I'm returning to the tribe with Kouga," he announced, "I can't leave him with wounds like these, I'm sorry Kagome."

Kagome nodded in understanding. Even if Yuki didn't understand, she did. She could see how Yuki felt about the wolf demon, and it had to be the sweetest and most genuine thing she's ever seen, "It's alright Yuki, I understand. I'll come find you another day, okay?"

The blond nodded and turned back to Kouga, helping him stand upright and walk back in the direction of the cave. He allowed Kouga's arm around his shoulder, his other arm going about the wolf demon's waist to keep him upright. They made their trek back to the caves slowly, the wolf demons followed behind them, shouting with excitement and congratulating each other, after all, the long war with the birds of paradise was over, all thanks to Kagome and her friends. Yuki threw one last wave to his cousin before they disappeared from sight.

"That turned out a lot different then we expected," Sango says, still comfortably seated on Kirara.

"Yeah," Kagome agreed, "But I think that it turned out for the best."

"Hmph," Inuyasha grumbled as he stood himself up, dusting off his red robe, "Whatever, let's go."

"Right," Kagome agreed.


	7. Filler 1: Night Cuddles

"How's your arm doing?"

Yuki's gentle voice jostled Kouga out his daydream; the wolf demon peers up at the teen, noting the concerned expression before he looked down at the gash on his arm. It was healing nicely thanks to Yuki's medical treatment, and Yuki's "gentle" coercion to rest. Kouga tried to explain to the teen that he was a demon, and he didn't need medical attention for such a puny wound, but Yuki was as stubborn as he, and insisted he rest for at least a few days. Kouga figured if it made him happy, he'd be willing to abide for a few days. Especially since things seemed to have gone back to what was considered normal in the tribe. The wolves reclaimed the land that the birds stole from them, and patrols went out daily without being attacked as badly as before.

"It's the same as it was yesterday, fine," Kouga replied, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt. He wasn't annoyed at Yuki for worrying and taking care of him, but he's still sulking about how humiliating it was to get his ass saved by that half breed. He could smell human on the dog, it's an embarrassment for Koga to be saved by someone who's half mortal, "I told you not to worry anymore, didn't I?"

Yuki let out a sigh and sat down next to him on the fur palette, it was nighttime, the den was only lit by moonlight. Most of the wolves were asleep, some quietly murmuring amongst each other. He and Kouga were further back against the cave, in Kouga's private chambers, hidden from view from the tribe. Yuki sits close enough that their thighs' brush, and a rush of heat spreads throughout Kouga. He knew the teen probably did it unconsciously, but Kouga was only a demon and he has been holding back on his desires for, in his opinion, far too long.

"I know you're strong," Yuki's melodic voice drags Kouga out his fantasies, and he forces himself to pay attention again, "But that doesn't mean that you should push yourself, okay?"

Kouga nods in understanding, pretending like he wasn't imagining how Yuki's voice might sound in the heat of passion, moaning and whimpering under him, ' _control yourself_.'

"I told my tribe that they're no longer allowed to hunt humans."

Yuki looks up from his lap, hazel hues locking with Kouga's ocean blue eyes, "Y- You did? Why?"

Kouga shrugged, looking away from that beautiful gaze to look down at his lap for a moment, "You said you didn't approve of it, and after I thought about it, I decided that you're right. I'd have a problem with my kind being slaughtered too."

"K- Kouga…"

Kouga's head snapped up when he heard the tremor on Yuki's voice, his keen nose caught the scent of salt, "H- Hey you're crying?!" he quickly turns to fully face the human, hands up in surrender, "Don't cry, come on, what did I say wrong?"

"You didn't say anything wrong," Yuki wiped the tears on his eyelashes, he was smiling, "I'm just really happy. Happy that you're willing to change your ways for me. Thank you, Kouga."

_Ba-dump_

The statement was met with a comfortable silence, Kouga could feel heat rushing to his face, his heart hammering in his chest. He was unsure at first, but now he knew, he knew he loved this boy. He wanted to protect him at all costs, take care of him for the rest of his life. He was strong, and had a big heart.

"Yuki…"

Yuki looked back up at him, "Yes?" he was caught a bit off guard by the intensity in Kouga's eyes, they looked like cold fire. His breath hitches as Kouga cups his face with one hand, leaning close to him, so close that Yuki could feel his breath on his face, "K- Kou-"

Before he could get the words out, Kouga drew him closer and clashed their lips together. Yuki was surprised at how soft Kouga's lips were, his own lips part despite his doubts. He's never been kissed before, and he never thought that his first kiss would be taken by another man. The teen doesn't even try to resist, mesmerized by the feeling of Kouga's lips gently pressing against his own; the wolf was always so rough, which was why his nickname was 'brute'. But… Kouga kissed him with such tenderness.

Yuki snapped out his haze and pulled out the kiss, "Wait…" he murmurs, forehead pressed against Kouga's. This was all happening too fast, and Yuki didn't know how to process it. He didn't completely hate it, which was where his confusion was stemming from. Kouga's hands clutched Yuki's arms, preventing him from pulling away.

"You brute, you caught me off guard…" Yuki managed to detach their faces and lean back a bit, his cheeks blushing a bright red.

"Maybe, but you were enjoying yourself," Kouga replied, refusing to release his hold around Yuki's waist.

"Kouga- I-"

"It's okay," the wolf demon quickly reassured him, his hold on Yuki's waist loosening a bit as he continued, "I know, it came out of nowhere, I just… I've never been good at ignoring my desires."

Yuki blushes a deep red, he had no idea how to respond to that. The wolf demon smirks at his flustered expression, his left arm releases the teen's waist, his hand going up to cup Yuki's flushed cheek, "I love you, Yuki."

Yuki looked away, blush deepening, "St- Stop saying that."

"I'll say it however many times that I have to, until you fall for me," Kouga could feel in his heart that Yuki held a semblance of the same feelings for him, but he could see that the boy was not yet ready to accept it. He couldn't say that he understood why, but he needed Yuki by his side, the war proved that.

"Sleep with me tonight."

"K- KOUGA!"

"You fool, I don't mean it like that!" Now even Kouga's blushing, tanned skin stained red as he released him fully, "I meant sleep on my furs with me, brat!"

Yuki was a bit overwhelmed, just the thought of lying in bed with Kouga made him blush up to the tips of his ears, he didn't even respond to the flaccid insults, "Oh… I- I don't know…"

"Come on Yuki," Kouga's voice was like silk, pulling Yuki closer again, "I promise I'll keep you warm."

Yuki rolled his eyes, "You're not going to give up, are you?" he asks with a reserved sigh, hazel hues meeting blue.

"Nope."

"Fine," Yuki gave in, he was too tired to argue further with the demon, and he knew he'd end up doing what he wants anyways.

He wasn't too dissatisfied with the situation, as Kouga pulls him close against his chest and they lay down against the soft fur together. Yuki was sure the demon could hear the pounding of his heart, and perhaps he could hear the butterflies in his stomach as well. Kouga's hands stroke his back, his arms, and his hair. It sends shudders down Yuki's body every once in awhile, and the teen was sure that he's not getting any sleep tonight.

"Goodnight, my love."

Yuki blushed again, "Goodnight… Kouga…" he replies with his head buried in Kouga's chest, and despite how nervous he felt, he soon found himself drifting into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> consider this a "filler" chapter. Just a cute, short moment between these two before we get back to the actual plot. Hope you enjoyed the cuteness because i'm about to ruin it.


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